Nevertheless, we now need clarity on what lies beyond. Retail matters to the UK: 3 million jobs and £17bn of tax are at stake. 

We’re the UK’s biggest private-sector employer and can be a powerful engine of the post-crisis recovery. But it’s not sustainable for retail to be 5% of the economy while shouldering 10% of all business taxation. We’re not looking for handouts – just fair treatment.

Of course, we can’t be blind to the government’s daunting and urgent challenge to get post-crisis public finances to add up. So whatever fairer taxation we propose must be affordable and easy to implement.